that is a very unfortunate and tough situation to read about. everyones input here is very good. in addition to the comments made: good kite instruction has come a long way from aggressively holding a "student" by the back of the harness. that is almost a telltale of a poor lesson, at this point. that may sound crazy, but it is generally true. if you are an instructor reading this and dont get what im saying, feel free to pm me and step up your game. if your at the beach, the guy holding the harness is not in a good position to help the person flying the kite, nor prevent an accident like this one. it has its time and place, but is really not the "default" best place to be in order to help your client or maintain control of the situation. if you see that classic instructor student setup, it may be a good reason to take a closer look at the situation. good kite instruction is very different than it used to be.

kite instruction is serious business, despite what it might seem like. information used in the wrong way or without proper execution could be more harmful than helpful. i am happy to be very open about a lot of "technique", but with this kind of situations: kite instruction is to be done by trained and experienced instructors, no one else. for everyone else: it is a good idea to investigate/ask questions/etc when you see a situation that might be potentially dangerous to someone (or OUR kite access/privileges), which can include the classic guy holding onto the other guy by the back of the harness position, a position which: doesnt allow the "assistant" easy access to any parts of the control bar system, and is out of the riders line of sight, among many other obvious drawbacks. it is an ok position at certain times, but definitely not the best place to be at others.

all that being said, accidents can always happen in kiting, it is an extreme sport, and this was just an (another) unfortunate one. it is going to happen sometimes, and i am very sorry to the people involved and hope everything is alright.

i dont mean to take the topic too far in a different direction, just to reinforce the idea of checking out what's going on around the kitespots and checking up on people to help keep things cool.